18 Company Team Building Activities: Indoor and Event Ideas

Today, we present you with 18 company team building activities: indoor and event ideas. Pick one or a few and help your employees create a productive and fun working environment, to everyone’s satisfaction.

We have already covered similar topics, so if you are looking for team building activities for work small groups, then our article Quick and Easy Team Building Activities for Small Groups can also help you. In that article, you can find even 5 minute team building activities, if you really don’t have too much time to spare.

Many team bonding ideas on our list are indoor team building activities, but we also cover team outing ideas. Also, you may want to know that we cover some free team building activities, if you don’t find office material such as paper, pen, or a few stickers something to be considered as costly.

Not only companies and enterprises are aware of how important team building activities are, but also schools. So is there any crucial difference between team building activities for students/kids and company team building activities? While there can be some overlaps and those that are good for kids, can also be played by students, and employees, there are those that are more age appropriate and better themed for each. Since we are covering company ones in this article, let’s name a few well-known for students and kids, as some of you will find these useful as well.

For kids, we recommend Blind Retriever. It is a simple game in which each team should guide a blindfolded team member to bring an item. The team who does it first wins. Kids love this game, and by playing it, they earn how to trust each other, and now to communicate.  For somewhat older kids, high school students, for example, we’ve picked out Machinery in Motion. To play this game, students should be divided into teams, and each team should be assigned a machine that they should assemble with their bodies (for example a smartphone, vacuum cleaner, TV). They can make noises, move, create a play in a way. With this creative team bonding activity, students learn to work together, while having a lot of fun.

In case you really need a plenty of company building activities we offer another list you can check – The 6 Best Company Team Building Activites to Build Workplace Camaraderie.

To form our list of various company team building activities: indoor and event ideas, we used plenty of sources such as The Balance, Blog.Hubspot, Wrike, WhenIWork, to name a few. We picked some that are most often recommended, but also, to be honest, those that seem most fun to us! Here at Insider Monkey, we also like to play, hence we searched well for this article. Let’s check out what we found, and along the way we will tell you our favorites, expecting your pick as well in the comment below.

18. Scavenger Hunt

We start our list of 18 company team building activities: indoor and event ideas with the well-known game — Scavenger Hunt. This game can be played both indoors and out of the company’s building. In case you are somehow not familiar with this game, it is quite simple — divide the employees into groups with the same number of members and send them in a hunt for various items you have hidden, giving them various clues. You can get pretty creative with this (including various twists), hence forcing the team to work together.

17. Hello My Name Is

No this has nothing to do with the old famous Eminem’s My Name Is song, except for being also fun. It is quite simple as well, all you need are stickers with various adjectives that depict people’s attitudes, such as negative, self-conscious, funny, brave, etc. Each person should take one sticker out of the container and place it on its shirt, and start “taking the attitude” that they picked. They can do that for example, half of the day. You may ask – where is the team bonding in this game? Well, this simple game will help people in their interaction, teaching them how various attitudes affect others, making them all more tolerant, and aware of their own behaviors.

16. Two Truths and a Lie

Yup, the same old Two Truths and Lie everyone knows. How is this good for team building? Well, it will help your employees in getting to know each other better, and also to develop better communication skills. In case you don’t know how this game goes, here it is: every person should write on a piece of paper two truths and one lie about themselves. Others should guess which one is a lie, by asking questions about the statements, and a person should try to fool everybody by convincing them that a lie is actually the truth. In the end, everyone should tell the real truth.

15. Volunteer for Charity as a Group

Fifteenth on our list of company team building activities: indoor and event ideas, is an altruistic one — volunteering for a charity as a group. What type of charity you pick, whether is building homes for homeless, or working in community kitchens, it doesn’t matter, all it matters that your team works together to help those in need. This noble activity is going to really bring them close together, and it is definitely one of our favorites.

14. Karaoke Night

Nothing gets you closer to another a person like getting a bit embarrassed on purpose. Which is why a karaoke night, can be a great event that will bring your coworkers together. It will be a fun night for everyone, after which, they will certainly be more relaxed at the office.

13. Painting Class

Learning a new skill together is definitely something that brings everyone closer together. Hence, sending your employees to a painting class can be very amusing, and very office productive later on. Which is why it takes the thirteenth place on our list of 18 company team building activities: indoor and event ideas.

12. Blind Drawing

Our number 12 is something that naturally goes next – since also involves same artistic skills. Blind drawing is a game in which coworkers are divided into groups of two. One person gets a pen and paper, while the other gets a picture. The one with the picture should try to describe it to the other without using the exact description. Of course, you’ve guessed it, the other person should try to draw it. In the end, they compare the drawing and the original picture, and then change the roles. This activity is not only fun, but it promotes interpretation and communication skills.

11. What’s My Name?

Another one of our favorites, What’s My Name is a really fun game, and since it is fun it is also very simple. Just find some stickers and write the different occupations on them (for example, plumber, hair stylist, judge, doctor, veterinarian, etc.) and place one sticker on the back of each team member. They can’t know who they represent, but the other can.  Now, all they had to do is mingle, and ask questions about themselves, trying to figure out who they represent. This also works with famous people instead of occupations. It is a similar game with Hello My Name Is, but instead of attitudes, coworkers are playing famous people, or various occupations, learning a lot about the stereotypes we all have about others.

10. Salt and Pepper

Another activity that develops communication skills is called simply – Salt and Paper. For this, all you need are some stickers and a list of commonly known pairs such as salt and pepper, and peanut butter and jelly for example. Write the name of one item of the pair on one sticker. Then put one sticker on each coworker’s back. They shouldn’t know what is on it. Then, coworkers should ask each other yes or no questions, trying to figure out, what is on their back. Once they do, they should try to find their pair.

9. This is Better Than That

We are continuing our list of company team building activities: indoor and event ideas with this a simple, yet very interesting problem-solving game, that really shows your and the creativity of your team. The idea is to come up with a scenario like – “you should save the world from aliens”, and offer four or more object coworkers can use. Each team should come with a ranking of how useful these objects are, and explain why they think that. Be careful when thinking of scenario and choosing objects, not to make the ranking too obvious.

8. Explore a New Place

What can be more fun among company team building activities – indoor and event ideas, than sending your employees out of the office, or even out of the city to explore some interesting place? The possibilities are endless – from a simple dinner at a new restaurant to a visit to a near eco-village.

7. Cooking Class

With cooking becoming more popular each day, who wouldn’t want to play Jamie Oliver? Your coworkers can do that together by taking a cooking class. Enjoying food, and having fun preparing it, is certainly going to bring the team members closer together, hence resulting in the healthy office environment.

6. Kart Racing

Say no more. Another fun activity outside the boring office building on our list of company team building activities: indoor and event ideas. If your employees like exciting activities and are a bit of adrenaline junkies, then this is a perfect pick for them!

5. Room Escape Games

Yup, one of our favorites as well. Lock your coworkers in a room for one hour, leaving them to find some hidden objects, clues, trying to solve the puzzles that will eventually get them out of the room. Not only it is fun, but this game gets the colleagues to work together and to think logically. Someone will probably stand out, showing their natural leadership skills.

4. Board Game Tournament

If your employees like board games, this team bonding activity might be the perfect pick. The tournament can be held in the building, and you can motivate the coworkers with some small symbolic prizes for the first three places. They will have fun together, which will make the environment in the office more enjoyable even during working hours.

3. Paintball

Everything said about number 6 on our list of 18 company team building activities: indoor and event ideas, Kart Racing, is applicable for Paintball. Got to love it!

2. Egg Drop

The old egg drop ranks second on our list of company team building activities: indoor and event ideas. Everyone recommends this activity. And why wouldn’t they, when it is so interesting, and, in a way, exciting. Two teams should get the same material to create some kind of a carrier that will keep an egg from cracking when falling down from a height you choose.

1. One Question

And the last, but definitely not the least among our 18 company team building activities: indoor and event ideas is called One Question. You should imagine a few scenarios in which one person should be chosen to do something. Like, getting a job, coaching the football team, defending a country, becoming a president, etc. Ask each co-worker to write down one question for that person on which answer they will base their judgment whether that person is a good choice. So, the question should be perfect. After everyone asks one question, they should analyze all the questions and vote for the perfect one. This is a great team bonding activity that will show how everyone thinks differently. Your coworkers will get to know each other better, see what motivates each one, hence, they will be able to collaborate easier.

Which one is your favorite from our list?